The Weapons of Antietam

It is our plan to give you a little more information about some of the weapons used at Sharpsburg at the Battle, and to associate them with the specific military units which employed them. This is an ongoing project, and establishing weapons for every unit is no small task, so we may be at this for some time.

Infantry Weapons

These are some of the Infantry weapons used at Sharpsburg. Click on a weapon's name for more information about it.

This was the most common weapon in most Federal Infantry units at Antietam. It was also in wide use in Confederate units following capture and battlefield scavenging. A large number of these were captured at Harpers Ferry immediately before the battle.

Artillery

This is a list of the types of Artillery known to have been in service on the Maryland Campaign. Click on a cannon's name for more information about it. Click Equipped Units to see which batteries had the weapon.

Most Federal cavalry units equipped their troopers with this sidearm, and many captured pistols were in use in Confederate units as well. This was often the sidearm of choice for Artillery and Infantry officers too.

The saber was carried by virtually all cavalrymen, both Federal and Confederate, for close combat. Some officers in other military branches also carried Cavalry sabers - MGen G.B. McClellan, for example, carried an 1840 Federal model.